Beltane celebrations

From: The Sabbats - A Celebration of MAY DAY by Mike Nichols

'Perhaps it's just as well that you won't be here...to be offended by the sight of our May Day celebrations.'
--Lord Summerisle to Sgt. Howie from 'The Wicker Man'

There are four great festivals of the Pagan Celtic year and the modern Witch's calendar, as well. The two greatest of these are Halloween (the beginning of winter) and May Day (the beginning of summer). Being opposite each other on the wheel of the year, they separate the year into halves. Halloween (also called Samhain) is the Celtic New Year and is generally considered the more important of the two, though May Day runs a close second. Indeed, in some areas -- notably Wales -- it is considered the great holiday.

May Day ushers in the fifth month of the modern calendar year, the month of May. This month is named in honor of the goddess Maia, originally a Greek mountain nymph, later identified as the most beautiful of the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades. By Zeus, she is also the mother of Hermes, god of magic. Maia's parents were Atlas and Pleione, a sea nymph.

The old Celtic name for May Day is Beltane (in its most popular Anglicized form), which is derived from the Irish Gaelic 'Bealtaine' or the Scottish Gaelic 'Bealtuinn', meaning 'Bel-fire', the fire of the Celtic god of light (Bel, Beli or Belinus). He, in turn, may be traced to the Middle Eastern god Baal.

Other names for May Day include: Cetsamhain ('opposite Samhain'), Walpurgisnacht (in Germany), and Roodmas (the medieval Church's name). This last came from Church Fathers who were hoping to shift the common people's allegiance from the Maypole (Pagan lingham - symbol of life) to the Holy Rood (the Cross - Roman instrument of death).

From: What a belting Beltane!

 

As around 8000 people gathered on Calton Hill for the climax of last night's Beltane Fire Festival, the heavens opened and a torrential downpour began.

The festival began earlier in the evening than in previous years because of a new feature introduced for its 21st birthday – a Family Beltane.

First started in 1988 to revive ancient Celtic rites to mark the end of winter, it soon came to be known for its uninhibited behaviour, racy performances and semi-nude dancers.

Family Beltane producer Adam Tomkins said: "In ancient times Beltane was a family festival, but today some of it isn't necessarily suitable for children.

"We held the Family Beltane to give the children a flavour of what the main event is like. We started off with face painting and storytelling, and then we did our own mini procession around the hill covering all of the same elements in a real family friendly way."

Family Beltane was well attended for its inaugural year with several dozen families turning out – and the rain held off until later.